Public Relations

Dr. Kevin Trowbridge, APR, is passionate about helping others realize who God created them to be so they can do what God called them to do. And that’s what he gets to do every day as an associate professor and chair of the Department of Public Relations.

Trowbridge joined the faculty at Belmont in 2011 and has taught many of the core and elective courses offered by the department. After teaching the first social media course in 2011, Trowbridge spearheaded the development and launch of an undergraduate Social Media Management program. He also collaborated with his colleagues to create a new graduate program, the Master of Science in Strategic Communication and Leadership, which also began in Fall 2020. Trowbridge also advises Tower Creative Communications, Belmont’s student-run strategic communication agency.

Trowbridge, who is Accredited in Public Relations (APR), brings nearly a decade of full-time professional experience to the classroom. Before returning to academia, he served as vice president for communications at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), an international higher educational association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Other experiences include work in public relations, corporate communications, and marketing in higher education, healthcare, and financial institutions.

When he’s not focused on curriculum, instruction, or assessment, Trowbridge enjoys researching contemporary communication strategies, social media practices, organization-public relationships, and the intersection of communication and faith. He regularly shares his research through presentations and papers.

Trowbridge and his wife of more than 20 years, Robyn Clifford Trowbridge, live in Smyrna, Tennessee with their adorable, yet mischievous American Cocker Spaniel puppy named Hank.

Dr. Christie Kleinmann, APR is an associate professor of public relations at Belmont University. In this capacity, she teaches courses in public relations, design & production, and sport communication. Kleinmann has been a featured presenter at many national and international research conferences and has been recognized for both her research and mentorship activities. She was named a Page Legacy Scholar by the Arthur W. Page Center for her research on social responsibility in sports and a Page Legacy Educator for her teaching modules on social responsibility in public relations.

Professionally, Kleinmann is accredited from the Public Relations Society of America and has served as the PRSA Lookout Chapter Accreditation Chair. Kleinmann has also received several professional awards, including the 40 Under 40 Business Leader Award in Northeast TN/Southwest VA, the 30 in their 30s Leadership Award in Southeast, TN, and the Geneva King Writing Award. Her professional background includes experience in health care and sport communication.
Kleinmann received her doctorate in Communication from the University of Tennessee with an emphasis in sport public relations. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education from King University in Bristol, Tenn. and her Master’s degree in Communication from Auburn University.

Dr. Bonnie Riechert, APR, Fellow PRSA, joined the faculty in 2006 and helps students form connections between the classroom and career opportunities. She helps connect students with professional mentors and with internship and employment opportunities. She teaches courses in public relations, strategic communication and Belmont’s BELL Core.

She serves as faculty adviser to the nationally recognized Belmont University Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. She is a recipient of the national PRSSA Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award. Under her guidance, the Belmont PRSSA Chapter and its members have received national awards each year since 2006. Chapter awards include recognition for Chapter Development, Community Service, Outstanding Regional Conference, Ethics Advocacy, University Service, and Outstanding PRSA/PRSSA Relationship.

Dr. Riechert is active in professional associations including Public Relations Society of America, in which she served as a district officer and as president of the PRSA Nashville Chapter. She is a recipient of the PRSA Nashville chapter’s Hercules and Olympus Awards for outstanding leadership and contributions. Dr. Riechert was Accredited in Public Relations in 2001 and inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows in 2007.

Her background includes working as a journalist, where she was recognized for excellence in news writing. She also worked in higher education public relations, serving in communications positions at the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee. She began teaching at the University of Tennessee, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations, communication, first year studies and marketing, and she helped team-teach a psychology/university studies course on spirituality and health. She received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the UT College of Communications and was a finalist for the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teacher Award.

Dr. Riechert’s research interests include career readiness and professionalism, ethics and strategic organizational communication, relationship marketing, consumer behavior, spirituality and health, message framing, cognitive style and learning preferences, team building, mentorship and leadership. She has authored book chapters and articles in scholarly journals and trade publications. She has received awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Society for Technical Communication, the Association for Communication Excellence and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Dr. Riechert is married to Arthur Manuel Riechert Jr.

Trenay Perry Bynum is a life-long learner, servant, and educator committed to sharing her passion for communication with the next generation of professionals using her spiritual gifts and talents. Bynum teaches core and elective courses in public relations, including Public Relations Principles, Public Relations Writing, and Social Media Content Development.

Bynum has worked in strategic communications for over 30 years and has generously shared her expertise with cause-oriented organizations such as the Nashville Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc, Alkebu-Lan Images, the National Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program, Bethlehem Centers of Nashville, and the Scarritt-Bennett Center. She founded and directed Figures of Nashville, Inc., for which she received the Women's Hospital at Centennial's Spirit of Women Award (Community Service Division).

Her spiritual gifts and passions intersect with her desire to craft messages that have a positive impact. Bynum is an outspoken advocate for family education and health care access, particularly for women. She is the author of TRIUMPH! The Beautiful Face of Courage. She views it as sowing seeds throughout the Nashville community, having organized various health-related events, including Sisters Together and Fit, Fine, and Fabulous.

Along with her academic pursuits and teaching responsibilities, Bynum is responsible for promotional communications for her church and is laying the groundwork for a youth communications training opportunity through TedX@JeffersonStreet.

She is currently pursuing the Ph.D. in strategic media at Liberty University. Bynum graduated from Cumberland University with a master's degree in public service management and from Tennessee State University with a bachelor's degree in mass communications.

Bynum enjoys reading, film criticism (really, just lively discussions about movies), personal branding research and writing, being a mother to a GenZer, and spending time with her husband, Quinton Bynum. They have two fur babies, Oliver the cat and Wyatt the bulldog.

Since beginning her career in public relations, Hope Buckner has worked alongside many organizations in the health care, education and nonprofit spaces. She has experience in media relations, crisis communications, event management, media training, community relations, organizational development and more. Before joining Belmont University as the Associate Vice President for Public Relations & Special Initiatives, Buckner served as an Associate Vice President at FINN Partners, a global strategic communications agency, where she managed many accounts across the health care continuum. Ever passionate about educating the next generation of public relations and nonprofit leaders, Buckner continues to work as an Adjunct Instructor at Belmont where she teaches courses in the Department of Public Relations.

Katy Carrier is the Creative Director of Pencil & Paper Co., a Nashville-based digital content and product development company. She previously served as editor-in-chief for print magazines in Southern California and co-founded a social media management, content creation and public relations agency specializing in hospitality and design industry clients. Carrier is also a former attorney who practiced business, media and communications law. She received her juris doctor degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans and a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Brent Mosley brings industry experience in strategy and analytics to the classroom and is passionate about teaching students the essential skillsets to build a foundation for a career in strategic communication management. He has more than 12 years of experience in social media strategy, content development, measurement and analytics, and he has helped organizations of all types to identify, understand and embrace new platforms and trends in the fast-changing digital media landscape.

Mosley has a background in journalism and worked at one of the first social media agencies to help brands understand and leverage the power of social storytelling.  Since then, he’s worked on the agency side at Edelman, the world’s largest independent communications firm, leading digital media and social media projects for iconic brands like Wal-Mart, NBCU, Disney, Hilton Hotels, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, ASICS, Intel, Lenovo, Samsung and Microsoft. He worked in house at WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), leading social strategy, and a large initiative to build a social presence across the globe, with international content localization of culturally relevant and in-language versions of productions. Currently at Change Healthcare, a large technology company based in Nashville, he runs social media strategy, encompassing content creation and ideation across 15,000 employees, and oversees brand voice in content, measurement and paid social activations as well as a robust executive visibility program to highlight thought leadership.

Mosley has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and an MBA from George Washington University, with a focus on international marketing. He lives in Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood with his wife Jenny and two daughters, Patterson and Monroe, as well as their dogs, Oscar and Sharky. 

Noelle Mashburn is an accredited public relations professional with more than 20 years of work in communications and public relations. Her career includes time at WSMV-TV in Nashville, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, LifePoint Health and White House Utility District. She currently leads the East Region marketing and communications team for Liberty, a regulated water, wastewater, natural gas, electric and propane/air utility company that serves communities across North America. 

Amber Palmer-Halma serves as Associate Director of Executive Communications at Vanderbilt University by day and Belmont University adjunct professor by night in between her full-time job as Mom to two elementary school boys. She previously worked in communication roles at Southwest Airlines, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Chemonics International, the George Washington University and LEAD Public Schools. She has volunteered her time and expertise with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the White House. She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Whitworth University and her M.A. in Communication from the Johns Hopkins University. She, her husband and boys love the Washington Nationals, movie nights featuring animated minions and any chance to connect with friends.